Negotiations begin, although they are mostly unofficial.
The “legal period of manipulation” in the NFL free agency began Monday with a series of agreements, even as many teams are releasing veterans to free up salary cap space before the start of the fiscal year on Wednesday.
The most aggressive team was the worst in the league. Jacksonville, which has next month's first overall draft pick for the second year in a row, went to work early.
The Jaguars agreed to sign Arizona receiver Christian Kirk; Washington guard Brandon Scherff; Atlanta linebacker Foyesade Oluokun; New York Jets defensive tackle Folorunso Fatukasi; New York Giants tight end Evan Engram and Las Vegas receiver Zay Jones, according to a person with knowledge of the negotiations.
Those who also agreed on moves were New England cornerback J.C. Jackson to the Los Angeles Chargers; linebacker Haason Reddick, from Carolina to Philadelphia; guard Laken Tomlinson, from San Francisco to the New York Jets; tight end C.J. Uzomah, from Cincinnati to the Jets; runner Chase Edmonds, from Arizona to Miami; the offensive lineman Ted Karras, from New England to Cincinnati and fellow lineman Alex Cappa, from Tampa Bay to Cincinnati; guard Rodger Saffold, from Tennessee to Buffalo; quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, from Buffalo to Pittsburgh; and safety Xavier Woods, from Minnesota to Carolina, with many more moves on the doorstep.
Those who stayed on their teams were downtown Tampa Bay, Ryan Jensen, a key protector for the now unretired Tom Brady; RB James Conner and QB Colt McCoy with the Cardinals; safeties Devin McCourty, with the Patriots and Quandre Diggs with the Seahawks, who also held tight end Will Dissly; the kick All-Pro Braxton Berrios with the Jets; defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah, with the Dolphins; linebacker Preston Smith, with the Packers; center Brian Allen and tackle Joseph Noteboom, with the Rams; center Mitch Morse with the Bills; linebacker Alex Anzalone, with the Lions; and center Ben Jones and tight end Geoff Swoff Swoff Aim, with the Titans.
Those who were released and can sign with another team, even before Wednesday were Brows receiver Jarvis Landry; Packers linebacker Za'Darius Smith and versatile offensive lineman Billy Turner; Bears nose guard Eddie Goldman; and Panthers cornerback A.J. Bouye and defensive end Morgan Fox.
Yes, all 32 teams are in settings mode. Some are desperate to fall below the $208.2 million salary cap and others free up space to spend on hiring reinforcements.